I have a few things I would like to say to you regarding the Reporter advisory board decision to limit the availability of this reporter issue. 

I come from a very small town, roughly about 700 or so people. I grew up with ignorant parents, around a lot of very ignorant people. I was never taught about what being gay meant, who homosexuals were, what transgender is or anything LGBT friendly. A lot of the people I went to school with were also never taught this. And while we grew up in the 21st century so a lot of information was available to us through the internet at a very young age, it was still a struggle to learn about these other humans, these PEOPLE. So many of my friends have taken their lives because they didn't know that what they were feeling was OK, and that there are other people in the world that feel just like them. 

Do you know what the base of all hate is? Ignorance. The inability or unwillingness to learn about something. That's what causes hate. And do you know how many people take their lives because of the hate spewed by ignorance? Too many.

Teaching others about the LGBT community, no matter what aspect it is, is something that is NEEDED and is very important. Here at RIT, the president, faculty and staff all talk about how accepting the student body and the RIT community is, but the student run on campus magazine tries to publish an article informing others about gender and sexuality and it's immediately censored? 

This is the exact definition of "Talking the talk, but not walking the walk". 

This is NOT supportive of the RIT community as a whole. 

I'm sure that when enough students are informed of this, it will be clear that the RIT student body does NOT support this decision. 

There is a difference between obscene material and the material being published in this article. This isn't the 1990's anymore, this is the 21st century. Forward thinking is the ONLY way to move forward, and censoring an article like this is not forward thinking. 

There is a difference between allowing these students to publish this article and forcing people against their will to read this article. I'm sure those who do not agree with the subject matter will simply choose to not read it, by censoring this article you are not protecting anyone, instead you are hurting the very people who may need the most protecting. 

I speak from the heart when I say that I'm sure that if just one of my friends had casually come across an article like the reporter is trying to publish, that they may still be alive today to laugh with friends and to earn a college degree. But that isn't possible for them, because they didn't know that they weren't alone, and everyone around them didn't know anything about what that person was going through. Educating the public is the only way to fight this terrible occurrence. 

I am not just some student speaking out for "free speech and civil rights" (although this is a clear violation), but as a human being. This decision does not benefit anyone more than it is hurting everyone.